Photo Essays, Spot News and Stock Photography

Rules are made to be broken. A studio photograph is not something that we would normally post. This photograph is that exception. We encourage and welcome any comments from our viewers. We call this photo “The Olive Oil Business“; U. S. c.1899. Perhaps you had to see the film, but if you did not you must have been living in a cave and off the grid. Our interpretation is purely subjective and we intend no disrespect. Having seen the film you have to ask the question does art imitate life?

We present an iconic photograph taken during the Korean War, “Korea: Behind The Barbed Wire” c.1952. As Korea remains a divided nation we can only hope that one day freedom will prevail from the Yalu to Pusan. Having served in the military in Korea from January 1969 to September 1970, my feelings for the Korean people remain strong to this day. This photograph is symbolic of the nature of the conflict from a war that has never ended.

We believe that an iconic image deserves its own blog. The U. S. location and exact date of “Firemen: Hold The Line” is unknown. The assessment of the date is 1919. The term “hold the line” is a military term that we think is appropriate as the fire rages. A sign partially reads “Electric City” at the extreme left which may give a clue to the location. Possibilities seem to range almost anywhere from Jacksonville, Florida to the state of Washington based on research.

My family had purchased two copies of paintings by Margaret Keane known for her “Keane Eyes” a/k/a “Big Eyed Waifs”. As a youngster I remembered the haunting eyes of these children in Keane’s paintings. They were very popular at the time. So it is that the lead photograph, “Tuco, Texas (1930)” brought back those memories to me of long ago. We cannot see the eyes of these two young girls. Strong sunlight made them squint, and what we have are their eyes represented by large dark circles because they are in shadows. I see the same sadness in the closed eyes of these two girls growing up in the Dust Bowl as those represented in Keane’s paintings. Perhaps it is also the dust forcing them to keep their eyes closed.

To be honest, the motivation for this image is the film “Open Range” starring Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner. It airs frequently on cable television. I had thought that the concept of free grazing or open range was long dead. Not so, to my surprise. The concept of open range is alive and well in certain areas of the U. S. particularly in some western states.

The photo in this blog was taken just outside of Currie, Nevada. Currie is essentially in the middle of nowhere in eastern Nevada about 25 miles west of the Utah border. It is a ghost town today with a population of about 20. For that reason we have included it in our “Ghost Towns of the American Southwest” collection.

A recently acquired image of a crowded city scene is “Downtown Chicago“; c.1924. An amateur photo of exceptional quality developed in a home darkroom. DPI has a number of images taken in Chicago, but this one is special. The Fair Store is visible on the right as well as the 20th Century Cafe at the left. The hustle and bustle of the Roaring 20s in the Windy City.

DPI has a collection of photos of Mt. Rushmore under construction or as it stands completed. This latest image, “Mount Rushmore“, is early on in the construction phase as two priests appear at the site probably to give a blessing for the safety of the workers. Jefferson’s nose appears in the photo. This is an indication that the date of this image is most likely in the spring of 1928. Holes drilled into the rock face for placing dynamite are also visible.

It’s November, and because it’s November we take a moment to remember the sinking of the S. S. Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior (November 10, 1975). We pay our respects to the brave men who lost their lives and to their families.

Today, pickup trucks are all the rage. I find myself surrounded by Dodge Ram 1500s, Chevy Silverados and Ford F-150s on a continual basis. Sometimes I feel overmatched in my Jeep Grand Cherokee, but different strokes for different folks. Maybe I should have bought a Hummer.

First introduced in 1900 the Kodak Brownie cameras were produced for decades and came in many variations. This helps to explain the quality of many of the images that DPI acquires. Without the use of 21st century photo editing software it would be impossible to present acceptable images. A recent Kodak Brownie acquired by DPI is featured here.